Chinese businesses cut ties with Rockets after Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong tweet

Several Chinese businesses are in a fast break to sever ties with the Houston Rockets, whose general manager has expressed support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters, according to a report.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey drew condemnation in China on Friday when he posted an image on Twitter that read, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”

Months of political unrest and violence have escalated tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing, which controls the former British colony.

The Chinese Basketball Association, whose chairman is former Rockets star Yao Ming, on Sunday said it would cut all links with the team, while Chinese consulate general in Houston urged the team to “clarify and immediately correct the mistakes,” according to CNN.

Meanwhile, CCTV 5, the sports channel of China’s top state broadcaster, announced that it would suspend airing Rockets games.

And Tencent Sports said it would suspend live streaming for Rockets games, as well as report news about the team, CNN reported.

Last season, almost 500 million people in China watched NBA programming on platforms of Tencent, the NBA’s exclusive digital partner in the country.

Sponsors also distanced themselves from the Rockets as a result of the brouhaha.

Sportswear company Li-Ning and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank each said they would suspend cooperation with the team, the network reported.

The NBA said it recognized that Morey’s views “have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable.”

“While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them,” NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said in a statement posted on the Chinese social media website Weibo.

“We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.”

Morey, whose original tweet on the subject has been deleted, said in a new series of tweets that he was speaking on his own behalf.

“I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,” he said. “I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.”

The NBA does not normally publish how much revenue it generates from China – but NBA China, which it established in 2008, was worth more than $4 billion, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told Forbes last year.

The league also partners with Chinese companies, which sell authorized NBA products, including sportswear, beer, dairy beverages and electronics.

One of the partners is e-commerce giant Alibaba, whose co-founder is Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai.

“The NBA has been very progressive in allowing players and other constituents a platform to speak out on issues,” Tsai wrote in a Facebook post.

“Chinese citizens stand united when it comes to the territorial integrity of China and the country’s sovereignty over her homeland. This issue is non-negotiable,” he said as he outlined the problem with supporting what he described as a “separatist movement” in Hong Kong.

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